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The Call of Ice

Summary:

Humiliated, bleeding, and stripped of his magic, Loki faces certain death from Odin's judgment. But help comes from an unlikely source giving Loki another chance at life.

Chapter 1: Broken Hearts and Ripped Veils

Summary:

Loki is captured and awaits trial. Will anyone believe his innocence?

Notes:

Hello lovlies, and thank-you for checking out this story. Kudos and comments are highly appreciated. Especially constructive criticism. I'm looking for a beta-reader, preferably someone familiar with Marvel and Norse lore. If you're interested please send me a note.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

    It worked.

 

    Loki had taken a huge risk playing the long con with Thanos. Loki let Thanos beat him, starve him, burn him, and subject to all manner of tortures until he let Thanos believe he broke him. Then, healed and reassured with false promises of power, Thanos sent Loki away to retrieve the Tesseract, a powerful artifact that housed the Space Gem. Once he was it earth, it was painfully easy to flub his mission - but not too much lest Thanos wises up to his tricks.

 

    He'll have to update his opinion of Midgardians. They are a lot more formidable than he remembers. Had the so-called "Avengers" been better organized, he might not have needed to throw the fight.

 

    So as he stands here muzzled, bloody, and sore - waiting for a definitely harsh sentencing - he can honestly say that he has no regrets. In this anyway. He has a slew of regrets in many, many other areas in his life.

 

    "Are you ready, brother?" Thor asks.

 

    Loki just glares at him. Suddenly realizing his folly, Thor turns sheepish.

 

    "Peace out Point Break," the loud one says. He then turns turns to Loki. "And as for you, Rock of Ages, don't let the door hit you where your daddy split you."

 

    Both Loki and Thor looked very confused at that.

 

    "Tony, they're not gods," says the blond one with the bulls-eye shield.

 

    "I know. They're just crazy powerful aliens who also happen to be as old as dirt. Really, what's the difference?"

 

    The green berserker (Bruce?) smacks Tony upside the head.

 

    "OW! What was that for?"

 

    "You know what it was for."

 

    "Brucie, why you gotta be so mean? I take you in, I show you candy land, I accept you as you are. I mean, at this point, we should be besties."

 

    "We are. But I promised Pepper to smack you if weren't on your best behavior. Something about not encouraging Asgard or Loki to annihilate us."

 

    "Such confidence you have in me."

 

    The red-headed shield-maiden rolls her eyes at their antics. "Knock it off children." She turns to Thor, "Stay safe."

 

    Thor smiles warmly. "You too, Lady Natasha. And the rest of you as well. Hopefully soon I might return and we may go on quests and do battle again. I am honored to call you all my shield brothers."

 

    "You too, Thor" says the archer. He clearly doesn't understand the significance of it all, but seems flattered all the same.

 

    Thor looks heavenward. "Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"

 

    With great haste, the brilliantly colored rainbow bridge beams down and they vanish in an instant. As they grow nearer, Thor's face becomes a mixture of joy and grimness. The same cannot be said for his prisoner.

 

    Loki's belly fill with dread. He forces his mind not to ponder what the one-eyed king has in mind for him. But his mind - ever the rebel - conjures up terrible images based on the numerous times he's faced Asgardian justice. By the time they reach the observatory, Loki is stone-faced and vaguely nauseous.

 

    A platoon of Einherjer are waiting for them. The commander examines his restraints to make sure Loki didn't loosen any of them. Once satisfied, they tie him to a horse. Loki's heart sinks at the thought of walking several kilometers to the palace while his body is quite sore. He manages to care Heimdall's look of pity before they leave.

 

    They pass through several public areas on the way to the palace. Loki watches the people point and stare and whisper with an ever sinking heart. This is not good. Odin's punishments are always harsh, but they always get harder the more public Loki's wrongdoing is. And this it the most public his faults have ever been since that time he lost a bet to those dwarves.

 

    At last they reach the palace. Both Odin and Frigga are waiting for him. Frigga is trying very hard not to cry, but a few tears still escape. She goes to embrace Loki, only for her husband to stop her.

 

    "Don't Frigga," the stone-faced man intones, "He is not worthy of it."

 

    Frigga complies, but the dam breaks. She leans of Odin's shoulder and starts to sob. It takes much self-control for Loki not to join her 

 

    They make their way downstairs into the dungeon. Thor and the Einherjer take him to one of the nicer cells. The kind usually reserved for people serving a short, non-fatal sentence. Loki is not certain if this bodes well for him or is simply the work of his mother's influence.

 

    Once in his cell, Thor removes the muzzle.  It comes off with the inside covered in spittle and blood.

 

    "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asks with a grim look.

 

    "Yes. Your friends are in trouble."

 

    "Trouble? How can they be in trouble if you are here in this cell?"

 

    "Not from me! Thanos!"

 

    "Thanos? The Mad Titan? Loki, our grandfather, King Bor, vanquished him long ago. How could Thanos be a threat?"

 

    "I did not attack your world on my own accord. Why would I when I never wanted a throne? He found me in the Void and forced me to. You need to tell Odin that as long as they have the staff I came with, Thanos has a means of trying again."

 

    Thor frowns, "If this is a ruse to get out of punishment ..."

 

    Loki smirks. "I'd be lying if I didn't admit I have hope it will help my case. But I know the All-Father. Extenuating circumstances mean precious little to him. No. The threat is very real. All of Yggdrasil is at stake."

 

    One of the Einherjer clears his throat. "Your Grace, it is time to leave."

 

    Thor sighs. "Of course." He turns to Loki. "I don't know if I believe you, but if there is a chance this is all true, I will tell our Father. He will decide if there is any truth to your claims."

 

    Loki sadly shakes his head. "Don't you see, Thor? He's not our father. He's yours. Always has been."

 

    "Loki, you spend so much time playing the victim that you warp reality into a world that does not exist. I have to go now. I'll see you at your trial."

 

    Loki watches then leave the dungeon. It is easy to tell Thor is extremely conflicted, but the Einherjer show no emotion. Loki isn't sure if that makes him feel better or not.

 

    Once he's pretty certain they've left, he walks to the back of his cell and sits on the floor. And he laughs. He laughs and laughs until his laughs turn to sobs. Then he sobs himself to sleep.

 

    Kilometers away, Heimdall stands on the observatory with a mournful expression. He peers out as far out as he can see. There is no sign of Thanos, but that doesn't mean Loki is lying. Heimdall's sight is limited to Yggdrasil and Thanos could easily be outside of it. And besides, Loki wouldn't lie about something like that.

 

    Would he?

Notes:

How Heimdall's sight works has boggled my mind ever since I saw the movie. I've also heard a lot about the edge of his sight. So I decided to make his sight reliant on his connection to Yggdrasil (don't know if that's a thing) and the edge is literally the edge of Yggdrasil.